Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their plans for setting up a new Regulator for Social Work.

The government remains committed to the establishment of a new bespoke regulator for the social work profession. We are developing the secondary legislation needed to enable Social Work England to operate as the regulator and are intending to consult on that in early 2018. Alongside this, we are working with the current regulator (the Health and Care Professions Council) and the social work profession, to establish a timeline that will enable a safe transfer of regulatory functions to Social Work England.

This approach to establishing a timeline will ensure that a dynamic, responsive and outcomes focused regulator is created, while also enabling a smooth transfer from the current regulator.